Electric railway



(No Model.) v 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. C. J. VAN DEPOELE. ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

No. 467,448. Patented Jan. 19, 1892.

(No Model.) I 3 SheetsSheet 2.

-- G. J. VAN DEPOELE.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

No. 467,448. Patented Jan. 1 1892,

(No Model.) Q 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

0. J. VAN DEPOELB. ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

No. 467,448. Patented Jan. 19, 1892 g9, F y .9.

WNW: 4m m kmms W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES J. VAN DEPOELE, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

,E LECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 467,448, dated January19, 1892 Application filed June 22, 1885. Serial No. 169.410. (Nomodel.)

7 To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. VAN DE- POELE, acitizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and usef ul Improvements in anElectric-Railway System, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to new and improved means for constructing andoperating electric railways; and it consists in the mode of applying thepower of the electric motor to the driving-wheels of the cars, as alsothe mode of conveying the electric current from the generator to themotor.

The following is a description of the system, reference being had to theannexed drawings, forming part of the specification.

Figure 1 is a side view of an ordinarytranr car arranged to be propelledby electricity, showing the mode of applying the power from motor todriving-wheels and the means of takin g the current from the suspendedconductor, also the current indicator and regulator. Fig. 2 is a planview of the car, showing, the dis position ofthe motor, the driving anddriven pulleys, and means for tightening the driving-belts. Fig. 3 is anend View of the car, showing the electric motor, drivers seat, and aconductor-supporting post. Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly incross-section, showing the suspending-insulator, the contact-wheel withspring-support, &c. Fig. 5 is a side View of the conductor andsuspending device. Fig.

0 is a side view of the spring contact-wheel and conductor. Fig. 7 showsa single track with passing switch, showing the mode of placing theconductors over the straight and shunt tracks. Fig. 8 shows threedifferent tracks and mode of conveying the current in shunting from onetrack to the other. Fig. 9 shows a straight trackand its singlesuspended conductor; Fig. 10, sections of main and shunt conductors.

In the diiierent figures similar letters indicate like parts.

As indicated in the drawings, A represents an ordinary tram-car.

B B are the rails and are used as one of the electric conductors, bothbeing connected, say,

to the negative pole of the generator and connecged together atintervals, as by conductors C is the suspended electric conductor,preferably of hard drawn copper and connected to the positive pole ofthe generator.

D is a grooved contact-wheel carrying the suspended conductor 0.

D is a disk or web of soft rubber interposed between the hub d and tired. of the Wheel D to give lateral flexibility to the grooved metallicperiphery thereof. The tire and hub are, however, electrically connectedby means of a proper flexible conductor.

E is an electric motor by which the car A is propelled.

F and F are driving-pulleys upon the armature-shaft of the motor.

G and G are endless belts for transmitting power from thedriving-pulleys F F to driven pulleys H H, secured upon the axles of thecarrying-wheels H H of the car. 7

I and I are tightening-pulleys for the belts G and G.

J and J are forks in which the pulleys I and I are hung.

K K are supports or brackets attached to the car, through which theshanks 7t 7c of the forks J J pass. The shanks k 7e are screw-threadedand provided with adj ustingnnts at their outer extremities and are freeto be moved longitudinally through their supports by the saidadjustingnuts. The tension of the belts G G is regulated, as desired, bysetting the adj usting-nuts upon the shanks of the belt-tighteners.

M is a frame, within which is mounted the contact-wheel D.

M is a hanger or cross-head supporting the wheel D and moving invertical ways in the frame M and sustained by a spring L.

N is'a T-shaped casting mounted upon the post P and holding thecross-arm O.

P is one of the supportingposts for the system of conductors.

P indicates thei'oot of post P, embedded in the earth or otherwisesecured.

Q and Q are insulators for the conductors C and suitably secured nearthe extremities of the cross-arms O.

R R are suspenders for the conductor 0.

7' is an ear or clamp of suitable metal for sustaining the conductor C,being brazed or soldered thereto.

S S are staples of galvanized iron, either baked in the porcelain orglass insulators Q or afterward secured thereto by means of sulphur, asshown in Fig. 4, and r r are strips of leather or sheet metal secured tothe Suspender R and connecting them with the staples S.

T is a bolt or screw passing out of the upper part of the insulator forsecuring the same to the cross-arm O.

U and U is insulating material, preferably soft rubber or similarsubstance, inserted between the cups Q and cross-arms O to better.

insulate the cups Q from arms 0 and postsP and at the same time todiminish the vibrations of the conductor.

S is the switch-lever of an adjustable resistance in circuit with themotor.

V is a current-indicatorin circuit with the rheostat.

W is the drivers seat.

Z indicates the operating-lever of a rotatable commutator-brush carrier,and is located in convenient proximity to the drivers seat.

The circuits of the system are as follows: From any suitable source ofelectricity the current is led by a proper conductor to both rails ofthe track, the rails being properly connected at their junctions, so asto have electrical continuity throughout their whole length. From thetrack the current passes by means of the car wheels and axles and bysuitable conductor to one of the terminals of the motor and through thecoils thereof, thence by the second terminal of the motor toswitch-lever S of current-regulator, from switch S through any desiredportion of the resistance, and through the current-indicator and thenceby suitable conductor to the contact-wheel and suspended conductor, orvice versa. I

To operate the car, the driver sits on the seat W,where he can handlethe brush-shifter Z and also switch-lever S of the current-regulator. Asabove stated, the motor transmits the power to the drive wheels orpulleys by means of two belts. In practice I find that good belts areperfectly satisfactory, being noiseless, and will have very littlewearing effect upon the difierent transmitting parts,

- besides giving a flexible connection between the motor and thedriving-wheels. The belts are made endless and are tightened by means ofthe arrangement shown in J and K. Further, in order to protect the beltsfrom wet or conductor of same size is properly brazed to the mainconductor and bent so as to follow the curve of the shunt-track, beingthus connected from one main conductor to the other. It will readily beseen that a car entering the switch or turn-out will keep itsconductingwheel parallel with the center of the curve of the shunt, andthat the conducting-wheel will lift up the conductor at the junction ofthe main and branch and finally raise the main conductor entirely out ofthe groove of wheel D, when the curved conductor will drop into saidgroove without breaking circuit, since the main conductor rises out ofthe groove of the contact-wheel gradually and the curved or branchconductor movesupward with the main. It thus becomes possible to do'yardwork as easily as with the ordinary steam-englue.

Fig. 10 shows the contact-wheel leaving the main for the shunt or curveconductor. The joint of the shunt to themain conductor is made long andgradual and the groove in the wheel is made wider at its periphery thanat the bottom of the groove, thus enabling the wheel to accommodateitself to the gradual increase in the breadth of the joined conductors.The conductors are both slightly lifted up, while the wheel is presseddown until the wheel presenting itself parallel to the shunt-conductorits outside flange will pass under the main conductor and graduallyreceive the shunt-conductor in its groove, and so from one line onto theother.

In order to minimize the wear and strain upon the conductors and also asto always insure good contact, the contact-wheel D, instead of beingmounted rigidly upon its frame, is suspended therein and held up bymeans of a suitable spring L. (See Fig. 6.) The upward pressure of thespring is so regulated as to insure agood contactin the highest plane ofthe conductor-that is, where it is held up by the straps Rand likewiseto be pressed down when the conductor hangs low. This will prevent theconductor being bent under the passage of the wheel, thereby avoiding asmuch as possible the crystallization of the copper by bending. In orderto prevent further vibration of the conductor, the wheel, as stated, isprovided with a flexible web holding the rim and the hub together. Tofurther deaden the noise of the contact D running upon the con ductor G,the frame M is mounted upon rubber supports m m, &c. It will thus beseen that the connect-ions between the car and the upper conductor arerendered as perfect as possible and that all the different movable partsare flexibly mounted, insuring the prac- ICC ticability of the systemand a long life to the Y different. parts. Even the insulating-cups areflexibly mounted upon the cross-arms, all tendingto avoid vibration ofthe conductor.

In case it is not practical to have the postsv between the tracks, polescan be placed on either side of the street, carrying a cross-wire, fromwhich the insulators are then suspended by an elastic spring or someother suitable device.

To insure a good electrical contact between the track and the wheels ofthe car, all the axles are electrically connected together, and in caseof a train of cars all are so connected between their axles and thecoupling-pins that by simply coupling the cars they are all inelectrical contact with one pole ofthe electric motor on the motor-car.

It often happens that in streets the tracks are covered with mud orother substances, which,when dry, interferes with the passage of thecurrent. By connecting all the wheels and axles t gether I give moreopportunities for the current to pass in one place if not in the other.7

The use of the resistance in circuit with the motor is to regulate thestrength of the current passing to the motor, especially at the momentof starting. The cars, as will be understood from the foregoing, arearranged to be run in multiple arc, so that whenever a number of carsare to be run at once as long as they are all runningthe currentwilldivide itself evenly through the different motors. Let us nowsupposethat we have to start a car. The armatu re will be standing still, andconsequently no counter electro-motive force will be present to preventmore current passing through the machine than that required when themotor is running, thus temporarily diverting the necessary current fromthe motors already running, so that whenever a motor is started aresistance about equal to the counter electro-motive force of the motorwhen it is running should be placed in circuit therewith. The resistancecan be arranged so as to be introduced and withd rawn as called for; butthis feature, as well as other matters herein referred to, but notcovered by the appended claims, are included in a separate application,now Letters Patent No. 403,801, dated May 21, 1889.

Having described my invention, what I,

claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an electric-railway system, a suspended conductor in continuouscontact with a vertically and laterally movable grooved contact, saidcontact carried by a vehicle and so arranged that it shall rise and fallwith the varying level of the conductorduring the motion of the car orvehicle, substantially as described.

2. In an electric-railway system having overhead conductors from whichthe current is taken to the motor, a traveling contactwheel mountedflexibly upon its axis, said wheel being further suspended in a frame inwhich it is capable of moving up and down, being pressed up by means ofaproper spring and pressed down by the weight of the suspendedconductor, thus following the undulations of the same with an elasticcontact, substantially as described.

3. In an electric-railway system, two conductors to the'current, onebeing the rails of the track electrically connected together at suitableintervals, the other an overhead or suspended conductor, upon which agrooved contact presses from below, said contact being movable bothvertically and laterally and mounted in a proper hanger carried by avehicle and continually pressed up against the conductor by means of asuitable spring, substantially as described.

4. An electric-railway system comprising a plurality of tracks the railsof which are electrically connected together and connected to one poleof the electric generator, suspended conductors corresponding with thetraclks and also all connected together and connected to the second poleof the generator, a system of electric-motor cars adapted to be run uponsaid tracks under said suspended conductors and carrying currentcollecting devices engaging the suspended conductors, and connectionsfrom the contact devices to the motorcircuits and from saidmotor-circuits to the track and thence back to the generator.

5. An electric-railway system comprising main and branch trackselectrically connected to form one side of the supply-circuit,electrically propelled vehicles moving upon said tracks and carryingcurrent-collecting devices, and main and branch supply-conductorsconnected and forming the other side of the circuit and arranged abovethe track and vehicles and parallel therewith, so that the contactdevice carried by the vehicle will follow the lineof the main or branchconductor when the vehicle moves from one to the other.

6. An electricrailway system comprising main and branch trackselectrically connected to one pole of the generator,electrically-propelled vehicles upon said tracks, a supplyconductorsuspended above and parallel with each track, said conductors beingjoined at the points of divergence, anda grooved contact device carriedby each electrically-propelled vehicle, said device being upwardlyspringpressed against and held into engagement with the under side ofthe suspended conductor parallel with the track upon which the vehicleis moving.

7. An electric-railway system comprising main tracks and branches fromone to the other, said tracks electrically connected to form one side ofthe supply-circuit, a main supply-conductor suspended over each main orstraight track and parallel therewith, branch conductors connected tothe main conductors and arranged parallel with the branch tracks, anelectrically-propelled vehicle, and a grooved upwardly spring pressedflexiblymounted contact-wheel carried by the vehicle and engaging theconductor below which the vehicle is movin 8. An electric-railway systemcomprising a plurality of tracks the rails of which are elec-' tricallyconnected to one pole of the electric generator, suspended conductorscorrespond ing with and parallel with the tracks, connecting shunt orbranch tracks, corresponding connecting shunt or branch conductors, and

electrically-propelled vehicles upon th e tracks, making a downwardcontact therewith and carrying upwardly spring pressed grooved contactdevices engaging the suspended eondnctors, said contacts adapted to movefrom one conductor to another, corresponding with the travel of thevehicle from one track to another.

. 9. In an electric railway, a system of suspended condnctors hangingeach over their respective tracks and electrically connected togetherfrom one track to the other by means of the conductors placed above theswitch or shunt tracks, as shown and described, and a flexibly-mountedcontactwheel capable of moving up and down in a proper hanger under theaction of a spring or its equivalent, forcing said wheel up against thesuspended conductor, thereby conveying the current from the distantgenerator to the motor by proper intermediate conductors, as described,said current passing from the motor through the axles and wheels of thevehicles to the track back to the generator, thus completin the circuitbetween the generator and motor.

10. In an electric-railway system, the combination, with amovingmotor,of a conductor situated above the motor and a contact carried bysaid motor and supported by springs arranged to allow vertical andlateral movein ent and to press the contact upward against saidconductor.

II. In an electric-railway system, the combination,with a moving motor,of aconductor situated above the motor, a conductor beneath the motor,and contacts upon said motor, making an upward contact with theconductor above the motor and a downward con tact with the conductorbeneath the motor.

12. In an electric-railway system, the combination, with a moving motor,of a conductor situated above the motor, a contact carried by saidmotor, making an upward contact with said conductor, the rails of thetrack forming the other side of the circuit, and connections to themotor, as set forth.

13. In an electric-railway system, the combination of the tracks of therailway, a line or lines of conductors above said tracks and followingthe line of all said tracks,andelectrio motors, each making an upwardpressurecontact with the overhead conductors and a downward contact withthe lower conductors. In testimony whereof I affix mysignature inpresence of two witnesses.

' CHARLES J. VAN DEPOELE. Witnesses:

JOHN EAsoN, AARON K. STILEs.

